Monday, June 8, 2009

This is how I make tied (no sew) tutus:(I know my directions may be confusing...pictures coming soon!)

Needed (for infant size)

Ribbon: 1 1/2 to 2 yardsTulle: 3 yardsCardboard: a piece about x36 inches. I ask at the fabric counter for an empty bolt. They usually have one I can have for free!Scissors

With the tulle folded in half, wrap it around the cardboard - just like you find it on the bolt at the fabric store.

slip one blade of the scissors into the center of all the layers of tulle at one of the side folds, and cut the whole way, holding the tulle onto the bolt with your other hand. Now gather all those loose sides back onto the bolt, and cut the other side.

Once you've cut your long strips, cut each in half at the folded narrow side (the other narrow side will be open, not folded.) Cut each of these strips in half.

Starting right smack in the middle of the ribbon, tie each strip of tulle in a knot around the ribbon. Alternate tying the tulle onto the ribbon on either side of the middle to make sure you get the ties at the back even. (if they don't turn out even, you can always slide the knots slightly to the longer side) If you're doing more than one color, alternate colors as desired.

Tie the ribbon into knots after the final tulle strip on both sides to prevent the tulle from slipping off.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

UPDATE: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans.

Significant to makers of children’s products, the vote by the Commission provides limited relief from the testing and certification requirements which go into effect on February 10, 2009 for new total lead content limits (600 ppm), phthalates limits for certain products (1000 ppm), and mandatory toy standards, among other things. Manufacturers and importers – large and small – of children’s products will not need to test or certify to these new requirements, but will need to meet the lead and phthalates limits, mandatory toy standards and other requirements.

The decision by the Commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.

The stay will remain in effect until February 10, 2010, at which time a Commission vote will be taken to terminate the stay.click here for more info

In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China and other developing countries violated the public's trust. They were selling toys with dangerously high lead content, toys with unsafe small parts, toys with improperly secured and easily swallowed small magnets, and toys made from chemicals that made kids sick. Almost every problem toy in 2007 was made in China.

The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their molds to include batch labels.For small American, Canadian, and European toymakers, however, the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of up to $4,000 per toy, will likely drive them out of business. And the handful of larger toy makers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007. Toy makers won't be the only ones impacted by the CPSIA, the thousands of US businesses who offer clothing, jewelry and other gifts for children --in essence-- the entire children's industry will be as well.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public's trust. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade children's products will no longer be legal in the US.

Thriving small businesses are crucial to the financial health of our nation. Let's amend the CPSIA so that all businesses large and small are able to comply and survive!